Side plate press



Jan. 6, 1953 T. F. s'rAcY 2,624,272

SIDE PLATE 'PRESS Filed Feb. 15, 1950 Patented Jan. 6, 1953 SIDE PLATE 'PRES S rhonias Staten-Piqua, Ohio, assigner to The .',French OilMill Machinery-Company, Piqua,

-Ghic Application February 15, 1950,Serial-No. 144,280

This invention `relates to hydraulic presses. -andgparticularly-to the-type 4having heavy side -plates arranged-inspaced, side by sideparallel relation, -a `lpress 'Y head between :and connecting -the platesatione end, anda ram andp-laten' beltweenand connectingthef'plates nearthe other end. Presses offthisftypeare illustrated for example;v inA my prior 'Patents N o. 2,013,587- granted Sept. 3, 1935- and No, 2,062,043 granted Nov. 24,

,An objectofdthisinvention is to provide an improved 'side 'plate-press construction, which will reducethe` amount of accurate machining necessary ytofiitthe vhead and base to the side plates, -in vwhichv the connections between the platen andv thehead'and base will not become loose whilethe press is under normal operating pressure; Ainl-which relative-motion between the side-plates` andy the headand base will beavoided While-the press isin operation; in which any wear or--perlnanent `set may be compensated-for ina'simplemannerv; inl which the'cost of Athe construction'willgbe reduced, and which will be relativelyfsimpla practical and inexpensive.

Otherobjectgandadvantages will be apparent from the following description of one embodiment of the invention, and the novel features will be particularly Vpointed out hereinafter in connection with the appended claims.

`inthe'accompanyingdrawings:

Fiatil is a iront `elevation of a press constructed inaccrordancewiththis invention;

Fig.'-2 is anelevation on'a larger scale :Of a portion of the same corresponding Vto that Vwhich vis enclosedvwithin the -dot and dash circle of Figui;

Figf -isa sectional elevation through the same, the section Abeing taken approximately along-'the line 3 3, Fig. 2,1 and 'F-ig. 4gis-a front elevation, on the scale 'ofFig 1, of-a corner cfa press also constructed in accordancetwiththis invention, but illustrating` a modi- "fication'thereofiIn'fthe :embodiment of.4 the invention illustrated -in'iFigs.- :"1V :to 3, .the-l press of the f side plate type includes a base Ifhavi-ng yattachedvto opposite sides'thereoi,` by means such as bolts12,a pair of heavyzside plates .Sfand V4` which upstand-from vtheigbase-in-fafparallelrelation. The upper ends .-,of .;the.plates arewconnected by an interposed press head 5, .to theends of which the plates 3 and 4 are secured by screws t. The inside faces i `the platesv and!! are provided near fthe o with-.transversegroovesor ,channels 1:1

:andwl ,huisirnilar Atransversegrooves 8: nearg-the "i bottom. ,'A projecting. keyor rib .Bgextcndszfmm front to rear s across nach end; ,face of head f5 Vand eachA rib. or key enters a. slot 'I to -actzasfzan l integralzkey that ,prevents .-verticaLmOVement :Qf :the v,head A5r 'along the ,vertical plates 3` and .4. Similarly, .-the base I carries parallelgrbs, lgat opposite -sides vwhich extend from ,iront Ato :rear andere; received .inthe channels 8. iso ras tol act as keys :that limit `relative,A vertical mQvemQnt between the plates A3;,andtll;amd-:the base I.

l,Within the :base I is aghydraulic cylinderill that-opens upwardly` through tl-ieftop of thebase, and ,a piston 1 2 whchdepends froml tiret-under face of the platen I3 and telescopes closely within the cylinder I I to'form1the-ghydraulic.machine by which' theplaten may beelevated and'lowered. A packingcgland or device IlIzmay be provided around the piston` I2 .atthe .upper endof :the cylinder II to `litrnit escape of operating fluid `from cylinder II. Apipell isv Aconnected :tothe base I and communicateswithaport I6 which opens into the'lowerend ,of @the cylinder '.II. Fluid under pressure, controlledvby a suitable va1ve,. isl admitted :to cylinder I'I Athrough 4pipe VI 5 to vcause the platen to.rise,but iscutoff .andthe cylinder vented when the platen is .to be lowered. To this,extentthe:pressis atypicalgside plate press suchas shown Vin 'mygprior patentsabove identiied.

:Each groove? is made vertically wider than the rib 9, and a pair of tapered wedges I'I,-.and I8 aredisposed'face to `face in superposed relationbetween one side of each-slot 'I anda side faceofthe -rib `9 yso yasl to'act las shims andtake up space-betweenI the-rib and theside wall-of the-groove or slot. vThewedges I'I and I8 Vare Vv.tapered from end'to end.and.-as arranged, lthe Htapers-in the wedges yof; each pair run in opposite directions, Nas shown in Fig. 3. .The tapers 4are supplementary,` in that when arranged as .shown in Fig. 3, the upper and lower faces of the'assembled wedges `f are, .in .all sliding positions,

, always :paralleltoseachother, :and ,the abutting A-iaceseof vthe Wedgesfareasomewhat diagonal, for Q anlacute anglectoifthetnarallel vfaces. `With-such 1an; arrangement, o matter how-much the wedges of.v azisunerposed .airare :,slidzalone: one another,

movediendwse tczlmner fand; lcwer parallel faces of the pair will 'bef-causedgmpa- 3 rate or approach each other and thus determine the effective vertical dimension of the pair. These wedges l1 and I8 run lengthwise of the slot 1 in which they are disposed, which would be from front to rear of the press. While the press is being assembled, a pair of wedges is inserted endwise into each slot 1, which causes pressure on the side faces of ribs 9 and forces ribs 9 against the opposite side walls of the slots 1. This takes up all play and provides a very tight vand secure connection. A similar arrangement of tapered wedges may be and preferably is provided between the upper faces or the ribs I and the upper side walls of slots 8.

It will be observed that with this improvement the keyways, grooves or slots 1 and 8 in the side plates are machined wider than is necessary, but with the side walls of the keyways or slots made parallel to the keys or ribs 9 and lil of the head and base. The width of each keyway or slot 'l 'and 8 need not be accurate, but can vary slightly,

vand in each such excess space there is provided two superposed tapered keys or wedges Il and IB inserted in the relative positions shown in Figs. 2 and 3, with their tapers extending in opposite directions. When pressure is put onthe press, these wedges may be further driven in endwise, to take up all excess play, and then the press will be completely free from any relative motion between the side'plates and the keys of the head and base. If'any wear or permanent set should occur to increase the clearance, the tapered keys can be driven in further to take up this additional clearance.

The tapered wedgesare preferably provided below the press head and while this should be ample to take up slack, the pairs of wedges also are preferably inserted above the keys I!) in the slots 8 to make accurate machining of the slot widths unnecessary. When the press is under pressure the base I and head 5 tend Vto separate; with this arrangement the high pressure exerted in a press operation will be resisted without high pressures on the tapered wedges. 'Ihe really high pressures will be directly between the ribs 9 and IG and the side plates. The wedges Il and I8 in the slots 1 and' are then, while free from heavy pressures, driven in tightly in order to take up any play. This makes it unnecessary to accurately machine the widths of the keyways or slots 'E and 8.

In Fig. 4 a modification is illustrated in which the bolts I9 that couple the side plates 3 and 4 to the head 5 pass above and outside of the head, and to make this possible, the side plates 3 and 4 extend a short distance above the head, and the bolts I9 pass through such extensions. The head also extends along the side plates at least to the edges of slots 'I along which the Wedges lie, so as to prevent the keys from dropping out laterally should they become loose.

It will be observed that not only do the widths of the keyways, slots or grooves in the side plates require no accurate machining, but the keys themselves do not have to be accurately machined in vertical width. Thisreduces the necessity of working to such close tolerances, which is expensive machining. Y

It will be understood that various changes in the details and arrangements of parts, which have been herein described and illustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be made by those skilled in the art within the principle and's'cope of the inventiodas expressed in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A hydraulic press comprising a pair Of heavy side plates arranged with their inside faces side by side and parallel to each other but spaced apart, a 'press head extending between the inside faces of and connecting the side plates adjacent corresponding ends thereof, a ram head extending between the inside faces of the plates and connecting the side plates adjacent their opposite corresponding ends, each plate having channelshaped slots in its inside face extending transversely thereof and located a substantial distance from the adjacent end of the plate, each head having a rib extending transversely thereof on the faces, said head abutting the side plates and said rib being received in a slot of said side plate, a pair of slightly tapered keys disposed in superposed relation in each slot between a side edge of each slot and the rib in each slot, the superposed keys having outside faces and abutting faces and having supplemental tapers so that the outside faces of the keys, opposite their abutting faces, will always be parallel, said outside faces of said keys abutting a side of the slot and head, said keys being adjustable endwise of themselves and lengthwise of the slot, to wedge the rib in each slot against a side wall of each slot.

2. A hydraulic press comprising a pair of heavy side plates arranged with their inside faces side by side and parallel to each other but spaced apart, a press head extending between and abutting the inside faces of and connecting the side plates adjacent corresponding ends thereof, a ram head extending between and abutting the inside faces of the plates and connecting the side plates adjacent their opposite corresponding ends, each plate having channel-shaped slots in its inside face, said slots extending transversely thereof and located a substantial distance from the adjacent end of the plate, each head having end faces having a rib extending transversely thereof on said end faces abutting the side plates, each said rib being received in and extending along the slot of said side plate which it abuts, a pair of keys disposed face to face in each slot with both superposed on each other between a side wall of the slot and a side face of the rib in that slot, said keys being slightly tapered from end to end lengthwise along said slot, and in opposite directions, the abutting faces between the keys being in planes normal to the bottom of that slot, and the faces of the keys opposite from said abutting faces being parallel to each other and to the side wall of the slot.

3. A hydraulic press comprising a pair of heavy side plates having confronting faces spaced apart and parallel to each other, a press head and a ram head extending between the faces of and connecting said side plates adjacent opposite ends of the plates and having end faces abutting the faces of said plates, a platen between the heads, a piston in said ram head and operating said platen, each plate having a transverselyv extending channel-shaped slot in the portion of a face Y the abutting-faces being parallel', and the abuttingrfaces between the keys being disposed in planes normal to the bottom of the slot in which those keys are disposed.

4. A hydraulic press comprising a pair of heavy side plates disposed face to face but spaced apart and parallel, each having a transverse channelshaped slot on its face towards the other plate and adjacent each end, a press head and a ram head extending between and connecting said plates and each having a rib on its end face received in a groove of a side plate which it abuts, a pair of superposed keys in each slot, each tapered from end to end and in opposite directions lengthwise along the slot in which they are disposed, said pair of keys being disposed between said rib and a side wall of said slot, one key being disposed along said side wall and the other along a side of the rib in that slot, the faces of the keys which engage said rib and slot side wall being parallel to each other.

5. A press construction comprising a plate having a channel-like slot extending transversely across a face thereof, a member abutting endwise against said face of said plate and having a rib on its end face entering said slot, a pair of superposed, tapered keys in said slot between the side wall of the slot and the side of said rib, one of the keys extending along and abutting said rib and the other key extending along and abutting said slot side wall, the tapers of the keys being in opposite directions, the faces of the keys which engage the side walls of the channel slo-t and rib being parallel to each other, and the abutting faces between the keys being in planes normal to the bottom wall of the channel slot.

6. A hydraulic press construction comprising a pair of heavy side plates disposed face to face but 6 spaced apart and parallel, each having a transversely extending channel-like slot on its face confronting the other plate and adjacent each end, a press head and a ram head extending between the adjacent faces of and connecting said plates near opposite ends thereof and covering said slots, each head having a rib on each end extending into the slot which that end covers, a pair of superposed keys in each slot, each tapered from end to end and in opposite directions lengthwise along the slot in which they are disposed, each pair of keys being disposed between a rib and a side wall of the slot in which they are placed, one key of the pair being disposed along and abutting said slot side wall and the other along and abutting a side of the rib in that slot, the faces of the keys which engage said rib and slot side wall being parallel to each other, and the abutting faces between the keys being in planes normal to the bottom wall of the slot in which these keys are disposed.

THOMAS F. STACY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,285,600 Blake Nov. 26, 1918 2,062,043 Stacy Nov. 24, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 471,188 Germany Feb. 8, 1929 '726,570 Germany Oct. 16, 1942 

